Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Here they are folks, the complete Northwest Natives Alphabet set! An incredible amount of work went into these carvings. I had a lot of fun learning about our native species, some are old favorites and others are completely new to me. The entire set will be on view at an upcoming show in Seattle. Please stop by if you're in town.

Letters A-M
A is for Aquilegia (Columbine)
B is for Bald Eagle
C is for Cougar
D is for Dogwood
E is for Elk
F is for Fox
G is for Grizzly Bear
H is for Heron
I is for Iris
J is for Juniper
K is for Killer Whale
L is for Lynx
M is for Mountain Goat

Letters N-Z
N is for Northern Spotted Owl
O is for Otter
P is for Painted Turtle
Q is for Quinault Tribe
R is for Rhododendron
S is for Salmon
T is for Timberwolf
U is for Urchin
V is for Viola
W is for Wolf Eel
X is for Xanthogrammica (Giant Green Anemone)
Y is for Yuma myotis (Vesper Bat)
Z is for Zapus princeps (Western Jumping Mouse)

A-Z: Northwest Natives Alphabet
I would like to make a print of this set available for sale... maybe even a postcard collection of the entire set? I will keep you guys updated!

I had so much fun w/ this interview, thank you for coming over Nancy! Check out my quad-chins yo!

These are the letters U-Z of my Northwest Natives Alphabet Set. The
full set will be exhibited at G.Gibson Gallery in Seattle. Since the
show is in the Pacific Northwest I thought I'd make a tribute to my neck
of the woods. Every letter is paired with species
that is native to the PNW (Pacific Northwest). Please stop by to see
the show if
you're in town.

V is for Viola
There are MANY native violas in the NW. They are one of my favorite plants in the garden, truly carefree and well adapted to our region. The flowers are edible, I love candied violets as well.

Viola 360 view
I really enjoyed making these flora-based crayons. My next alphabet set might have to be plant based...

Thursday, August 15, 2013

These are the letters N-T of my Northwest Natives Alphabet Set. The
full set will be exhibited at G.Gibson Gallery in Seattle. Since the
show is in the Pacific Northwest I thought I'd make a tribute to my neck
of the woods. Every letter is paired with species
that is native to the PNW (Pacific Northwest). Please stop by to see
the show if
you're in town.

O is for Otter
Scientific name: Lontra canadensis
Common Name: North American River Otter

Otter 360 View

P is for Painted Turtle
Scientific name: Chrysemys picta

Painted Turtle 360 View
This is probably my favorite crayon from the set. I love how ripples turned out. I carved the turtle on top first, but was unsatisfied with how small it was compared to the whole crayon. I wanted the carved portion to be larger so I added a pond scene with another turtle, lily pads and rippling water.

Q is for The Quinault Tribe

Quinault Woman
360 View

R is for Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus with more than a 1000 species, it's also Washington State's state flower.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

These are the letters H - M of my Northwest Natives Alphabet Set. The full set will be exhibited at G.Gibson Gallery in Seattle. Since the show is in the Pacific Northwest I thought I'd make a tribute to my neck of the woods. Every letter is paired with species
that is native to the PNW (Pacific Northwest). Please stop by to see the show if
you're in town.

Killer Whale
I really had fun doing this guy. The 2 color combo was a challenge, positioning the whale's body on this crayon was also hard. I finally just took some liberties and placed his dorsal fin on top of his head.

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

I've been working on a new alphabet set for an upcoming show in Seattle. Since the show is in the Pacific Northwest I thought I'd make a tribute to my neck of the woods. Every letter is paired with species that is native to the PNW (Pacific Northwest). It was a really fun project to put together and learned a lot about the local wild life... X and Z were especially hard to find. Please stop by to see the show if you're in town. More letters to come!

A is for Aquilegia (Columbine)Aquilegia canadensis L.
Common names include Eastern red columbine or Wild red columbine. Found in most of North America.

I grow these in my garden, they're really beautiful and like most native plants they require very little maintenance.

B is for Bald Eagle
Scientific name: Haliaeetus leucocephalus
They can be found year round in the PNW. I marvel when I see them in real life, most of the time it's crossing the 520 or perched on a log in Puget Sound.

Dogwood 360 view
It's amazing to see the Pacific Dogwood tree flower. They live under the forest's canopy, but are fairly tall themselves. When flowering their white blooms POP against the forest's deep emerald background. You can't NOT look.

E is for Elk
Scientific name: Cervus canadensis

Elk 360 View
I'm really happy with how this carving came out. I'm especially proud of the antlers and fur texture.

F is for Fox
Scientific name:Vulpes vulpes
Common name: Red Fox

Fox 360 View
I styled this fox after the Japanese Kitsune statues.

G is for Grizzly
Scientific name: Ursus arctos
Common name: Grizzly Bear or North American Brown Bear